How to get comments on your music

You may notice that some pieces posted here get comments, some even provide for a lively discussion, and some get few comments or none at all. Here are some thoughts and tips about how you can get comments on your pieces. None of this guarantees you will get a comment, but it may help in at least some cases.

1) The number one thing you can do to get comments on your piece is to comment on other people’s pieces. If all you do is post your own works and never comment on anybody else’s, you’re not really participating in the site or helping anybody else get benefit from what you might have to say. By commenting on others’ works, you are showing you care, and may receive a response in kind on your works. It’s perfectly fine if the first thing you do after joining is to post one of your own pieces, but don’t let it stop there!

2) Reply to as many comments on your work as you can. If you receive a response, even if you disagree with it, say “thanks.”

3) When submitting your work, include a brief description of it. A post which says “Here’s my work, hope you like it,” is much less likely to get a response than one which gives a little information about the work.

4) Be nice in all your commentary. A critical response is ok, but a critical response which is argumentative or disparages someone else is of no benefit to anyone, and detracts from the overall professionalism of the site.

5) If you have a score, submit it with your work as a PDF, it makes it a lot easier for us to understand your intentions.

6) Realize that not everyone here is at the same level. There are all types of composers on this site, from young to old, new members to long standers, beginners to highly skilled, people with little equipment/software to people with professional grade studios. Try to get at what a piece is about rather than get hung up on notation problems or output quality. It’s fine to mention this, but just realize that the composer may not be seeking that type of input.

7) Did I mention comment on other people’s works? Ok, let me say it again.

I'm as guilty for not posting comments. After months of writing a short piece that became a 40 minute symphony, not a word was said. Probably my own fault for giving a long and rambling description. Possibly because it was awful. Possibly because people have a life and can't invest the time in one un-established piece. But more likely, it's because I've not earned the trust and reputation from forum members.

I'm a long term contributor to a non-music forum which is related to my day job. I add something every day and, as a consequence, get a lot of feedback, requests for advice and offers of conferences etc. So, in principle, it works for me.

A tiny issue for me is that I often access the composers forum from my mobile phone, and the site doesn't lend itself to mobile use (not on mine anyway). I will, however, be building in forum time to my evenings studies over the coming months as my schedules have changed. I hope to offer as much as I learn. Keep up the good work folks.

You have summed up quite well some things which may lend people towards not replying. I can tell you that I am personally less likely to respond to a longer work, or at least delay my response until the weekend when I have more time to listen. Even then, I am unlikely to listen to the whole thing, I'll just slide my way through it, checking it in spots and only coming back for a fuller listen if it really catches my attention. One other thing - we get a lot of flybys, that is, composers who join, post one thing, and then disappear, never to be heard from again. For us long-timers (I have been here over 10 years), we tend to be more cautious with new posters than with ones who have been here a while and who have contributed to the site. We recently had for example one new poster who put up an hour-long work, never commented on anything anyone else did, was slow to respond to comments, and perfunctory in their responses. If someone is not here to give us a real try, we can see it, and will give them short shrift.

Regarding mobile, there is a mobile version of the site. The site is often able to detect when you are accessing it from a mobile device and deliver it to you, but in case that is not happening, you can directly type the mobile site address in your device: